How senseless to disregard one’s life by fighting foes who are but frail flowers, How foolish to spend your lifetime without meaning when a precious human body is so rare a gift Milarepa The song of the snow...

‘Oh my friends why do you…care so much about laying up wealth, and honour and reputation and know so little about wisdom and truth and the improvement of the soul..Are you not ashamed?’ Socrates 470BC-399BC Ever wondered why things repeat themselves? Why do we...

Your choice So you are faced every day with the suffering of others around you and in the world at large. You can either ignore it and focus on yourself selfishly. Or you can help others and care for them and YOURSELF, even at the risk of compassion fatigue. The...

There is no ornament like virtue There is no misery like worry There is no evil like anger There is no protection like patience There is no treasure like contentment There is no friend like generosity The Staff of Wisdom, Nagarjuna (150-250 CE) Finding Contentment...

Let’s take the example of a piece of rope lying in a dark place: you might mistake the rope for a snake. The mistaken idea that the rope is a snake could trigger various reactions in your mind such as fear, and might provoke you into all sorts of actions such as...

Surviving Christmas ‘ A hang-over is nature’s way of telling you not to do it again. So being human, you’ll go out and do it again’ ((17/24/31 December 2016 New scientist 63) For those for whom getting through christmas is a struggle, here are a few helpful tips. 1...

1 Mind your thoughts Do you exaggerate things to make them worse in your mind? Do you dramatise things? Do you always blame yourself or others? Do you constantly worry? Do people tell you not to be so negative? Do you only see things in black and white? Is it all or...

Definition of a cult As a very brief follow up to last week’s post on helping to find a genuine spiritual guide or helper. Here is a definition to help discriminate between a cult and a genuine organisation for spiritual or pastoral care. See also the link...